The mediocre trainer doesn't want to reopen

Following the 90-degree bows of several retainers of the Mejiro family, Kitano, Zennobu, and Ryan, who were already accustomed to it, and Fujiwara Reiko, who was already petrified, all slowly stepped into the palace-like mansion under the guidance of the retainers.

"The head of the family is waiting for you all. Please come over here with us."

……

At the moment when Kitano, Fujiwara Reiko and their group stepped into the Mejiro family, at the same time, another figure also walked towards a room in the inner courtyard of the Mejiro family at a very fast pace. Judging from the dress of that horse girl, she was the bodyguard horse girl of Mejiro Altan.

"Knock, knock." The bodyguard Ma Niang knocked on the door and said calmly without any emotion, "Miss Aldan, the dinner is about to begin. Are you sure you don't want to attend?"

"No thanks." After a long while, Aldan's weak and tired voice came from the room. Aldan in the room seemed to have just been woken up and replied weakly, "I'm not in the mood, Miss Bodyguard, don't let anyone disturb me."

"Miss, with all due respect, you've been listless these past few days, sleeping the entire time like a hibernating bear." Ma Niang, the bodyguard, stood her ground and said calmly, "You've been eating very little. Your lunch was even left outside the door. If this continues, your health will only worsen. The attending doctor hopes you can take good care of yourself."

"I know, Miss Bodyguard. I will have dinner on time. Just let the servants leave it outside. I just want to rest now."

However, Aldan's unresponsive demeanor left the bodyguard feeling rather helpless. Ever since returning from Tresen College that day and separating from Kitano, Aldan had been listless, spending most of his time sleeping and having no appetite, as if he were ill.

The attending physician couldn't detect any illness. He simply said that Aldan was very weak and needed to be nursed back to health. Aldan had been like this for a long time, so the Mejiro family head simply told Aldan to get some sleep.

But the bodyguard thought she might know why her young lady was so listless. After some hesitation, she spoke calmly, "Young lady, I think I saw Trainer Kitano Ryuichi at the dinner. The head of the family has invited him to attend."

"Click."

However, not long after the bodyguard finished speaking, the door of the room suddenly opened, and Aldan was seen sleeping in his pajamas with a dazed look on his face, even his sky-blue hair was messed up. He was listless a second ago, but now he was full of energy, and his eyes seemed to be glowing as he stared at the bodyguard Ma Niang.

"What did you say? Miss Bodyguard? Trainer Kitano is here too?"

"Yes, and they've brought Miss Shanxin with them. Miss Ryan and her trainer are also here." Seeing that her trick had indeed worked, the bodyguard was secretly delighted, but she remained expressionless as she spoke, "The purpose of this dinner is for the members of the Mejiro family to get to know the two trainers. I thought Miss Ryan already knew about them this morning."

"Why, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

After hearing Kitano arrive at the Mejiro residence, Ardan regained consciousness at a noticeable speed. However, she immediately realized that she didn't look like she was dressed to meet guests. She subconsciously touched her cheek to perk herself up a bit, then nervously asked, "How long until the dinner starts, Miss Bodyguard?"

"Another hour. Plenty of time for you to shower, wash your hair, put on makeup, and change clothes, Miss."

"No... there's not enough time to take a shower. Now help me change my clothes and put on some light makeup that might make me look more energetic."

The rare and cute look of Aldan in a panic made the bodyguard want to laugh. She really couldn't hide her affection for this young lady...

I really don’t know how powerful that guy Kitano Ryuichi is. He actually won over the young lady after just two meetings?

However, she couldn't control it. Her principles of action were first, Ardan's orders, second, Ardan's happiness, and third, the head of the family. As long as the young lady could be happy, she was willing to do anything.

Therefore, facing the somewhat panicked Aldan now, the bodyguard lady has made up her mind that no matter what is blocking the way ahead, she will clear the obstacles for the young lady - even if it is Miss Mejiro Zenshin.

"Yes, Miss." The bodyguard, having figured this out, skillfully began to tidy up Ardan's appearance. While quickly and carefully applying makeup to Ardan's face, which was now a little pale, she asked calmly, "What would you like to wear this time, Miss? Do you want something more luxurious or simple?"

"It's better to wear simple and decent clothes so as not to make Trainer Kitano feel uncomfortable." Aldan also answered softly. Although she wanted to dress herself like a real young lady and didn't want to show her lazy side in front of Kitano, she was worried that if she dressed too formally, Kitano would not dare to approach her.

The bodyguard Ma Niang also saw what her young lady was thinking and chuckled in her heart, but still replied calmly, "Yes, young lady."

Chapter 158: Kitano was reserved for the basement of the Mejiro family?

The dinner has not started yet, and Kitano and Fujiwara Reiko have been led by the servants of the Mejiro family to a quiet place on the edge. Kitano is also familiar with this room. It is the office of the head of the Mejiro family. He has been here several times in the past few weeks.

But here, Kitano and Fujiwara Reiko separated. Fujiwara Reiko and Mejiro Ryan were called to the office of the head of the Mejiro family first, while Kitano and Zenshin had to wait outside.

Kitano and Shanxin sat down on the soft seats brought by the servants, drinking ice water sip by sip. Kitano was very calm, but Shanxin looked restless, as if Kitano was the master of the Mejiro family, and Shanxin was a poor relative from the countryside who was not used to anything.

The silence lasted for a long time. Finally, Shanxin seemed to have lost his patience and asked Kitano beside him, "Trainer-kun... what on earth were Ryan and her trainer talking about with Grandmother in there? Why did it take so long?"

"I don't know, maybe they're talking about an engagement?" Kitano was nonchalant. He wasn't nervous at all. After all, his situation was different from Fujiwara Reiko's. He hadn't been involved in any fights with his boss, and Fujiwara Reiko and Ryan were already a done deal. Even if they were to start talking about marriage, Kitano wouldn't be surprised.

After all, Ryan is now gay. Regardless of whether Fujiwara Reiko did anything to turn Ryan gay or not, this is an established fact. Fujiwara Reiko can no longer escape the fate of marrying into the Mejiro family.

The head of the Mejiro family is a relatively kind head of the family, but the degree to which she protects her family members is no less than that of the head of the symbolic family.

If a trainer dared to have an affair with a child of their own family, but refused to take responsibility...then their fate would be quite difficult. This might be a bit unreasonable, but when it comes to the reputation of a family's eldest daughter, this is probably the best outcome.

Besides, there was nothing wrong with marrying into the Mejiro family. Although in Kitano's memory, the Mejiro family before he traveled through time had completely fallen into decline after Mejiro Taboro - but he had also served as Taboro's trainer, and he still remembered that after Taboro's service ended, the Mejiro family was still doing well.

A great family wouldn't decline simply because they lacked a talented horse-racing mother, or because their descendants were unwilling to take over the family business. The Mejiro family's investments in other areas were more than sufficient to sustain such a large family without worry. There was no chance of them ending up in the same bankruptcy and division that Kitano knew of.

Therefore, as a trainer, marrying into the Mejiro family is simply a lifelong pursuit - of course, this is Kitano's idea, and I don't know whether the senior thinks so.

"Marriage, engagement?"

Kitano's answer made Shanxin even more uneasy. His cheeks turned slightly red, but he didn't think it was impossible. After all, the two of them had already jumped horses, so it was not difficult to understand if they got engaged.

But it was precisely for this reason that Shanxin hesitated even more. If Grandmother was here to discuss an engagement, then were she and Trainer also called here for this matter?

If Grandmother asked, how would she answer? What would the trainer say? Would the trainer agree? Or would he refuse?

She would probably refuse... She had only known Trainer-kun for less than two weeks, and she... wasn't a great beauty. She wasn't as gentle as Sister Aldan, or as pretty as Dob, or as natural as Guangming, or as good as McQueen...

Everything about me is ordinary in the Mejiro family. How could I possibly marry someone as outstanding as Trainer-kun?

Moreover, there is no shortage of horse girls around the trainer. Each of them is better than her, and is not inferior to her in appearance and personality. The trainer can obviously like someone who is even better.

But if Grandmother insists on doing this... Trainer-kun shouldn't be able to resist, right? After all, in front of the Mejiro family, Trainer-kun's wishes alone are nothing.

Thinking of this possibility, Mejiro Zenshin's eyes lit up slightly, and she turned to look at Kitano with a bit of nervousness. She felt like she had predicted the future trend, and she was worried about Kitano, who was now unaware of the danger that was approaching.

If Grandma forces me to marry, what should I do? Should I refuse? If it's me... Grandma will probably listen, right? But will that make Trainer feel like I look down on him?

But would she accept it? Her own feelings towards Trainer-kun... let's not discuss her own thoughts for now. Trainer-kun definitely didn't like her, and that would be bothering him... Besides, he had worked so hard to build a team. If her engagement was to happen, Trainer-kun would definitely not be able to return to Tresen Academy and would be a member of the Mejiro family for the rest of his life!

Doesn't that sound good? No, no, no! That's too unfair to the trainer!

The believer, whose brain was in a storm, was experiencing emotions that rose and fell like a roller coaster. The emotions in his eyes kept wandering between hesitation and anxiety, but later on, they gradually became slightly expectant and unwilling, and even dark thoughts flashed through his mind occasionally.

But the kind-hearted Shanxin quickly suppressed her dark thoughts. She felt that during this period of time, whenever she encountered something with Kitano, it was always difficult for her to think calmly - there were always many dark thoughts in her mind, some of which... even after Shanxin calmed down, she felt scared.

The fear of "Why did I have such a scary thought" always troubles the believers, but the believers still can't help but have such thoughts again and again... more and more.

Trainer-kun, it's clearly not something unique to her, so I... shouldn't have such thoughts...

"Click."

Just as Shanxin was racking his brain, the sound of a door opening suddenly made Shanxin and Kitano stand up. They saw the Mejiro family's office door slowly open, revealing a delighted Mejiro Ryen and a seemingly unresponsive Fujiwara Reiko.

"Ryan."

"Sister Shanxin!" When Ryan saw Shanxin, he immediately came forward and hugged his sister. She looked in a good mood. She took Shanxin's hand and said with a smile: "Sister Shanxin, I'm sorry to have kept you and Trainer Kitano waiting for so long. Let's go to the dinner!"

"Huh? Trainer-kun and I don't need..." Shanxin was a little stunned when he heard this. At this moment, the head of the Mejiro family slowly walked out of the office with a cane, revealing a kind face and said, "We've finished the discussion. Sorry, Trainer Kitano, I kept you waiting."

"The dinner is about to begin. Everyone, please come with me."

"I thought Shanxin and I also had to negotiate with the head of the family?" Beiye also had the same question as Shanxin, and asked curiously, "Is there anything the old lady wants to ask me and Shanxin?"

"Haha, no need." The Mubai family head smiled softly upon hearing this, and said in a calm but pointed tone: "You and Shanxin... don't need to talk."

Are you trying to communicate with me in a silent way? Even the analytical Kitano had no idea what Mrs. Mejiro was up to. But it was good that they didn't have to discuss it. This meant that he and Shanxin had no problems, and there was no need to discuss the future like they had with this already-forgotten couple.

However, the Mejiro family head's implication was clearly understood by Ryan and Fujiwara Reiko, who had already gone in to discuss the matter. Ryan chuckled and looked at his dazed sister, his eyes glittering with joy and ambiguity.

Upon hearing this, Fujiwara Reiko cast a subtle look of pity at Kitano. At this moment, she couldn't help but sigh in her heart that such a good junior... had fallen into the devil's den.

Although they had only spoken for a dozen minutes, Fujiwara Reiko had completely understood that Kitano's earlier words of "intimidation" were actually true! Now that she had already taken a step into this devil's den, whether she could escape in the future...it all depended on luck. At least she still had a chance.

As for Kitano... Judging from the current attitude of the head of the Mejiro family towards him and his attitude, Fujiwara Reiko can only say... Junior, take care of yourself. When you enter the basement that I have reserved for you in advance, your sister will bring you two bottles of kidney treasure.

As for saving Kitano's life... what a joke! She couldn't even save herself, and she only had half a foot, while Kitano's entire body had already fallen into this devil's cave! There was no way to get him out, how could he be saved? There was no way to save him.

Besides, the head of the family was right in front of her. What if she made any small move and got caught in the act? She still wanted to enjoy a few more years of freedom.

"Okay, everyone's here. Let's go to the dinner." The head of the Mejiro family glanced at Fujiwara Reiko and, seeing she didn't say anything, nodded slightly. He then spoke to Kitano in a very friendly manner, "Trainer Kitano, upon hearing that you're coming, many of the children in the Mejiro family are very interested in you. If possible, please enjoy this dinner and chat with them."

"Of course, it would be great if you could give me some advice."

"I can't say I'm giving you any advice, but it would be my honor if I could help you all." Kitano nodded slightly when he heard that there was a horse girl who was interested in him. He quickly thought of the children from the Mejiro family that he had taught, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

If he were to tell her now that he'd coached all of those horse girls before... wouldn't Mrs. Mejiro be shocked? While it wasn't a record to be proud of, Kitano, having coached nearly all of the Mejiro family's horse girls, was confident he knew them well.

Mejiro Zenshin, however, was focused on the sisters that Grandmother had mentioned, those who were interested in her trainer. A slight tremor struck her heart, and she remained silent, but her hands unconsciously clenched into fists...

Apparently, what the grandmother said just now, "no need to talk about it"...seemed to be understood differently by the less confident believer.

Chapter 159: It’s all the fault of the past few weeks

The Mejiro family's dinner parties were always quite grand. This was nothing new to Kitano Ryuichi, who had been the trainer of the Mejiro family's horse girls for several weeks.

However, even when Kitano had the idea of ​​hosting a grand dinner at the Mejiro family, when the servants pushed open the door and the group arrived at the Mejiro family's hall, Kitano was still shocked when he saw the magnificently decorated hall, the various desserts, snacks and delicacies displayed, and even the specially invited band playing.

How could this be a dinner party? This was like a dance party. Were they planning on having dinner while dancing? Had they gathered most of the Mejiro family?

"Well, everyone, enjoy yourself. This banquet is to thank the two distinguished guests for coming, and also to let everyone in the Mejiro family get to know the trainers of the two most outstanding horse girls in the Mejiro family."

"You two don't need to be restrained. Everyone here already knew about your arrival. You can do whatever you want. Well, I'll be leaving now."

The head of the Mejiro family led the four people to the hall and then quietly retreated. It was obvious that the old lady had no mood to dance, or perhaps she felt that the atmosphere of the dance party would become more solemn with her here, so she left the scene as soon as she finished speaking.

"Trainer!" As soon as the Mejiro family head left, Ryan couldn't wait to grab the hand of the still dazed Fujiwara Reiko, his eyes shining with excitement as he said, "Trainer, please follow me. We don't often have dances at home, but when we do, our chefs do their best to prepare several delicious desserts. Come with me!"

"Ryan..."

However, Fujiwara Reiko was clearly unable to resist her role as the horse girl, and allowed Ryan to pull her aside. Kitano, seeing this, looked helpless and muttered to himself, "Senior, go with peace of mind. When you marry into the Mejiro family, I'll give you a gift."

Kitano was now certain that his senior would not be able to escape the Mejiro family's den. Fortunately, this wasn't Trepp. Although the Mejiro family was a den once entered, it wasn't a place where people could be eaten.

"It's just... a dance party. I'm really not used to this kind of occasion. I always feel uncomfortable."

"Huh? Trainer... don't you like the dance?" The believer who had been silent just now seemed a little surprised that her trainer would express his dissatisfaction. After all, in her impression, Kitano was very kind most of the time, even a little too easy to talk to.

For the first time, she saw some discomfort and disgust on Kitano's face. Shanxin was also a little curious. Could it be that her trainer disliked this kind of dance as much as she did?

"No...it's not that I don't like it, but rather that I don't have any very good memories of it."

Kitano really couldn't get used to this hobby of the so-called upper class. Especially when he first got involved with the Mejiro family, because of many so-called etiquette and upbringing, in the eyes of many people in the Mejiro family, he could be said to be ugly, which gave Kitano a lot of bad impressions.

But what's interesting is that the ones who mocked Kitano's etiquette and upbringing were not the horse girls from the Mejiro family or the head of the Mejiro family, but those who joined the Mejiro family later and were not born in the Mejiro family - which Kitano found very interesting. The fox is borrowing the tiger's power, but it is actually more mean than the real tiger.

Fortunately, Kitano at that time mastered the so-called standard etiquette step by step with the help of several horse racing maidens from the Mejiro family. They did not mind that he was slow to learn and taught him patiently again and again. Because of this, Kitano had a better impression of the horse racing maidens from the Mejiro family.

At least it was much better than the first impression of Rudolph, who was so mean to him in the early stage, and was arrogant and lazy. This was also one of the reasons why Kitano repeatedly taught the horse girl of the Mejiro family.

"My dancing was terrible back then, so I was always laughed at. Now when I see a dance party, I always feel like I'm going to be laughed at myself."

"Ah...it turns out Trainer-kun isn't good at dancing."

After hearing Kitano's words, Shanxin also smiled slightly, as if he discovered that Kitano, who he had always thought was omnipotent, finally had something he was not good at.

This feeling… was like a perfect being suddenly becoming human. Although Shanxin felt the description wasn't quite right, at least, because of this small detail, Kitano, who had always been omnipotent in Shanxin's mind, seemed to become more like the "ordinary person" he had been talking about.

Kitano's incompetence actually perked up Shanxin's mind, and he softly said to Kitano, "It's okay, Trainer-kun. Although I'm not a particularly good dancer...but I can still take care of my dance partner at the party."

"If Trainer-kun needs a dance partner, you can always come to me if you don't mind."

"Really? Thank you, Shanxin. But you probably have more important things to do than be my dance partner, right?" Kitano smiled softly upon hearing this, then cast his gaze towards a couple not far away—presumably a couple, right? Kitano had learned some knowledge of fashion design from Saint King Halo, and the dresses they were wearing looked like couples' styles.

And the most important thing is that after Kitano and Shanxin arrived at the scene, they kept looking at them, or to be more precise, looking at Kitano, with eyes full of curiosity.

"Shanxin, it's a rare opportunity for you to go home. Go and say hello to your parents. They must be worried about you too."

Kitano withdrew his gaze and smiled at Shanxin beside him, saying, "Go and wish your parents well. Of course, I would also be very happy if Shanxin praised me, a trainer with no special skills, in front of your parents."

"Trainer-kun...you're quite the worrier."

When the believer heard this, the gloom in his heart dissipated a lot. He smiled and nodded, walked up the stairs in the hall, and slowly walked towards the couple.

Kitano's gaze followed the departure of the believer and began to look around the dance. There were horse girls and ordinary people here, but without exception, they were all members of the Mejiro family. From the moment Kitano entered the door, he felt that the eyes of the people around him were all looking at him intentionally or unintentionally, and he actually felt a little uneasy.

After spending enough time with members of a large family, even someone like Kitano would be influenced by their thinking. He really didn't want to be a thorn in the flesh of the so-called large family members - too conspicuous, it would attract jealousy. Even if Kitano knew his own weight, others would see him differently.

In the eyes of others, he was a mentor to Shanxin, who had given this genius, who had been buried by the Mejiro family for many years, a new life in a week. The Mejiro family had no fewer than twenty dedicated trainers, and they couldn't see it, but you did. What would they think?

In his childhood, Kitano watched a TV series called "The Miraculous Doctor Xilaile." The protagonist, a country doctor, cured a disease that even imperial physicians couldn't, sparking jealousy and targeting from the imperial physicians. Initially, Kitano thought the villains in these TV series were too brainless and intolerant, but after entering society, he realized that this was just human nature.

It's easy to understand: someone's ability to reach this social status speaks volumes. But if you, previously unknown, suddenly rise to prominence, achieving what others can't, and suddenly putting them underfoot—it sounds pretty satisfying, but put yourself in the shoes of someone who's spent years and years working hard to get to where they are now, only to be surpassed by a young kid like you. You'll find this intense psychological imbalance can easily lead to a loss of sanity.

This reminded Kitano of what happened between him and Good Opera... At the time, he thought that in the world of Uma Musume, as a cautious person like him, there was no way he could replicate the situation of Good Opera in reality. However, it was because of a similar situation that Good Opera suffered losses everywhere in the competition.

After learning this lesson, Kitano certainly didn't want to attract too much attention, nor did he want to cause trouble. He had completely forgotten about the idea of ​​helping Shanxin improve his family's status and kept looking for someone who could temporarily protect him after Shanxin left.

Soon, Kitano's gaze fixed on a figure not far away. The figure had long, lavender-gray hair. She stood with her back to Kitano in front of a table filled with desserts, savoring the deliciousness of them.

Kitano immediately recognized the other person's figure just by looking at his back. Trying to find a supporter, he walked towards him without hesitation and called out, "Mr. McQueen? You're here too?"

“Eh?! Who, who? I didn’t eat the dessert secretly. I was really just relaxing—”

However, McQueen, suddenly called by her real name, turned around a bit nervously. If Kitano had called her "McQueen," she wouldn't have been so nervous. After all, this was the Mejiro family, everyone knew her, and technically she could use anything here, including desserts.

But Kitano called her "McQueen-san", which made McQueen subconsciously think that she was someone she knew in school. And her recent weight loss was well known to everyone, so she immediately panicked, thinking that she had been caught eating dessert.